OCH Regional Medical Center Athlete of the Week: Richardson

Coach Bruce Allsup has been coaching Raegan Richardson long enough to know that when the big stage arrives, he delivers.

One of two talented twins, along with brother Brady, Raegan blocked out a 1-of-8 shooting performance with two points against Kemper Academy earlier in the week and came up strong when needed. That came on Friday when Richardson racked up a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Starkville Academy Volunteers went to Canton Academy and picked up a huge District 2-AAA win to move to 13-4, 3-1.

“It seems like the bigger the games, he’s played bigger when we needed him,” Allsup said. “He was 16-of-19 from the free-throw line, which was just huge for us. They kept fouling him down the stretch trying to get the ball and he just stepped up calmly and hit one after the other.”

The performance earned Richardson the OCH Athlete of the Week Award this week and also put the Vols back into position to take the district crown if they stay on track. The game against Canton was one that worried Allsup coming in, but Richardson’s performance as well as the rest of his teammates’ helped them steal one on the road.

“My concern going into that game is that I knew they were very good defensively,” Allsup said. “They’re as well-coached as any team we’ve played defensively. They do a really good job helping and recovering. For us to go on the road and get a nine-point win was extremely difficult.”

Richardson averages 10.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.4 steals a contest for SA, but it’s the district games where he’s made the most noise.

In the four games against rival competition in district play, Richardson scored 22 points against Leake Academy, 14 against Heritage, 12 against Winston and the 21 in the victory over Canton. Along with those 21 points and 15 rebounds, Richardson was getting his teammates involved last week as he dished out seven assists.

After the two-point performance in the win over Kemper last week, Allsup said he knew that Richardson would be able to work through it.

“I’m always trying to control them in some kind of way,” Allsup said. I’m always telling him to keep his head up. He always has a positive attitude. He was able to respond to that.

“He’s been through some wars with us and understands what it takes. He’s never been one to back down or take a big shot. He took it upon himself to make plays in a big ball game. Our team was able to reap the rewards.”

The Vols are looking to continue their current hot streak of five-straight wins when they welcome in Leake for a rematch of their loss earlier this season. The two teams will battle at SA next Thursday.